UK law professors set out why they signed open letter in support of Palestine Action

UK law professors set out why they signed open letter in support of Palestine Action Submitted by MEE staff on Thu, 04/30/2026 - 16:49 Seven of the more than 100 academics to sign an open letter submitted to the High Court said they support 'nonviolent action' that might be required to stop genocide An elderly man in a wheelchair (C) is escorted away by police as protesters gather to call for the lifting of the ban on the Palestine Action group during a demonstration in Trafalgar Square in central London on 11 April 2026 (AFP) Off Several UK-based law professors have explained their decision to submit a letter to the Court of Appeal in support of the proscribed direct action group Palestine Action, as the court began hearing a government bid to keep the group banned under UK terror laws. Law Professor Neve Gordon at Queen Mary University of London and Professor Yvette Russell at the University of Bristol were among more than 100 academics to sign Tuesday's open letter, composed of only seven words, which read: "We oppose genocide, we support Palestine Action." Activists in support of Palestine Action hand-delivered the seven-word letter to the court on Tuesday, the same day that the government lodged its appeal against February's ruling, which found the ban to be unlawful. Lady Chief of Justice Sue Carr confirmed that the judges had received the letter, with Carr reading it out in open court. Speaking to MEE on Thursday, seven of the professors that signed the letter defended their decision to do so, saying that because they opposed genocide, they "support whatever nonviolent action might be required to stop it". "We oppose genocide because as academics who came of age in the decades that followed the second world war, we know that 'never again' must mean what it says," they said in an email to Middle East Eye. "Since we oppose genocide and teach Law, we oppose, above all, any restrictions on one of the most fundamental principles of our entire judicial system and tradition – the hard-won principle that jurors have the right, indeed the duty, to hear and evaluate the whole truth of the case they are called upon to judge, and to acquit a defendant on the basis of their own independent judgment and conscience. 'We oppose... any restrictions on one of the most fundamental principles of our entire judicial system – the hard-won principle that jurors have the right... to hear and evaluate the whole truth of the case they are called upon to judge'  - email from law professors "We oppose genocide, and therefore we support whatever nonviolent action might be required to stop it and to shut down the UK-based weapons manufacturers that are helping to enable it. We oppose genocide, therefore we support Palestine Action," they said. "We support Palestine Action, and we call on all people of conscience and goodwill to join us in doing so," the group added. More than 1,000 others also signed onto the letter, including leftist intellectual Tariq Ali, philosopher Judith Butler, writer Salley Rooney and activist Greta Thunberg. The Labour government proscribed Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation last July, making it a criminal offence to express support for its activities. Under the law, expressing support or membership of the group is punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Since the ban came into effect, more than 3,000 people have been arrested for challenging the designation, the overwhelming majority of whom are pensioners. Legal battle continues Lawyers representing the co-founder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, said on Wednesday that the ban on the group had disproportionately impacted Palestinians in Britain campaigning against Israel's actions in Gaza. They also criticised the Home Office for not giving Palestine Action prior notice of its designation as a terrorist group, as required by Britain's Terrorism Act 2000, which mandates that a group be notified before being banned. Palestine Action ban disproportionately impacts Palestinians in UK, court hears Read More » In response to Palestine Action's submissions, James Eadie KC, representing the Home Office, said that prior consultation of the ban was not required in this instance because Palestine Action was "a disparate group" and the court was entitled to consider "the practical difficulties of inviting prior consultation", including "identifying who should have been given prior notice". The court will give a judgment in the coming weeks, with a closed session on Thursday during which government lawyers will present secret evidence to judges that will not be available for scrutiny by Palestine Action's legal team. Instead, a special advocate hired by Palestine Action’s legal team, who has security clearance to view classified information, will instead be present and argue the direct-action group’s case. The special advocate, however, will not be able to share the information discussed in these closed sessions with Palestine Action’s legal team, despite working for them. The group who contacted Middle East Eye were Simon Behrman, Reader in Law, University of Warwick; Neve Gordon, professor of International Law, Queen Mary University; Penny Green, professor of Law and Globalisation, Queen Mary University; Sarah Keenan, senior lecturer, Department of Law, Queen Mary University; Hans Lindahl, chair of Global Law, Queen Mary University; Emeritus Chair of Philosophy of Law, Tilburg University; Yvette Russell, professor of Law and Feminist Theory, University of Bristol; David Whyte, professor of Climate Justice, Queen Mary University. UK Politics News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0